Unlikely Bonds
by I Double Dare You
Summary: Sometimes unconditional loyalty can be found in unexpected places. A fic depicting how a small thing, such as a pet, can change lives for better or for worse and how such bonds remain for a lifetime. Sirius/Remus. Rated for language and slash.
1. Animal Magnetism – a Tale of Repulsion

Title: Two Canines and A Feline

Pairing: Sirius/Remus

Rating: M for swearing and explicit sex between men.

Era: Jumpy; kind of moves through their lives.

Summary: Sometimes unconditional loyalty is found in unexpected places. A fic depicting how such a small thing can bring people together in the most unlikely of times. Sirius/Remus

Notes: Alright, so this plot bunny has been nibbling away at my conscience for a while and I've been putting it off because I know it's going to be quite a long-ish story. But it just wouldn't go away, so here we are! The time constraints were impossible to get past so I shattered them altogether – for all intents and purposes, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain were around before Sirius went to Azkaban. You're probably thinking right now, 'Now, I know this girl is off her rocker. Cobain and Sirius/Remus + a feline = this bitch is hooked on smack', but I assure you that's not the case. Just read on and it WILL (_hopefully_) make some sense.

PS: I **LOVE** my readers. Your reviews pick me up when I'm down and make me squeal with joy. No joke. :)

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**Two Canines and A Feline**

**Chapter 1: Animal Magnetism – a Tale of Repulsion**

Living with Sirius Black could never be called boring.

Remus had discovered this long ago. When the young Black heir had made a solemn vow of eternal mischief in their first ever week at Hogwarts, Remus knew that his dorm-mates (Sirius in particular) would make life interesting, if not downright chaos, for the duration of his schooling. What he had not counted on in that first week of school was that the chaos would last far past his departure from Hogwarts in the form of a fierce bond of friendship between the four Gryffindors. He had also not counted on this bond slowly blurring and transmuting into something far different for Sirius and he. It turned out that he needed a bit of chaos in his life as he and Sirius had taken their friendship to the next level in their late years of school and Remus found himself with the strangely enticing prospect of forever being in the never-boring presence of one Sirius Black. Indeed, some days he questioned the 'forever' part when he'd find all of his clothes – every last stitch – charmed curiously invisible one morning, and another time his voice magically charmed to an alarming chipmunk squeak one night during...intimate activities; much to Sirius' amusement of course.

And he supposed today was turning out to be one of those days where he wondered how long 'forever' would mean with Sirius, provided he didn't implode with exasperation or amusement in the meantime.

There sat the noble and unruffled Sirius Black on their old couch, patting a _cat_.

Remus stared. Then gaped a little. Then stopped his gaping because he figured he must have looked like a fish. Then settled for an exasperated, worn sigh. _They didn't own a cat._

"May I inquire as to why you are currently holding a cat?"

His tone was polite, having had much practice in keeping his cool when confronted with confusing or alarming situations.

Sirius cocked his head to the side as if to say, 'What, this cat?', to which Remus tried not to sigh again.

"Well as you very well know", Sirius began in his most self-satisfied of voices that meant they would be there all night marveling at his brilliance, "I, most generous, selfless and charitable of all wizards, have never missed an opportunity to display my giving nature. And so I have taken it upon myself to save a life this very evening".

Remus' eyebrows shot up towards his hairline as he carefully dissected Sirius' words and his gaze landed on the 'saved life' currently crouched on Sirius' thigh, enjoying a scratch behind an ear.

"So you brought a cat home?"

Sirius looked vaguely annoyed that Remus was not viewing the moment with the grandeur and admiration that he thought it most clearly deserved.

"He was going to be _killed_, Moony", the self satisfaction was gone and was replaced with earnestness to convince Remus of the direness of the cat's need, "they were going to kill him just because he wasn't born with any magical powers. Because he's a cat squib".

"They?", Remus inquired, his attitude softening slightly at Sirius' compassion for a simple cat.

"You know", Sirius flapped his unoccupied hand to indicate Remus' acquaintance with 'they', "those nasty bastards who'd like to put a ball and chain on you. _The Control of Magical Creatures_ department".

Remus' demeanor softened more notably towards Sirius and the cat at the mention of another soul rejected and deemed unworthy of existence by that abhorrent ministry department, even if it were only a cat.

"'Too many stray cats even for the muggles', they said, so they were going to put him down because they figured there was no reason for him to live, that no one would want him".

Remus heard the bitterness and hate in Sirius' voice and he felt his heart flutter at the stubbornness with which Sirius protected even the smallest mistreated innocent soul. He reckoned that Sirius viewed the coldness and injustice with which the cat had been treated as a small reflection of how he, Remus, was treated by the ministry, and that that was largely what had made Sirius so determined to protest it.

"But they're wrong, you know. I want him and I reckon you'll want him too once you get to know him".

At Sirius' words Remus considered the cat again.

It wasn't much of a looker to be honest. It was young, still scrawny, with short ginger hair, a long pointed face and large yellow eyes. In fact, it was a bit of a mongrel. But it had been accepted onto Sirius Black's short list of unconditional friendship, not unlike Remus had, and for that, Remus couldn't help but accept it too.

Smiling at Sirius' compassion, he started forward, intending to tell Sirius that they'd keep the cat as long as he wouldn't be the one cleaning up globs of hairballs and to give the charming animagus a little snog to show what he really thought of Sirius taking in the little mongrel, but he didn't make it there. As soon as he approached, the cat growled and hissed furiously and backed up against Sirius' chest, sinister yellow eyes glaring at Remus.

_Why you little shit._

Remus resisted the urge to blast the cat across the room. The _**nerve**_. He'd been perfectly willing to let the little toerag stay here even though he wasn't particularly fond of cats and it had actually _hissed_ at him. He knew why, of course. Animals had always been able to sense that there was something not quite human about him, that there was darkness, a monster, lurking beneath the surface of a human exterior, and it greatly unnerved them. It wasn't the first time that animals had wanted to run from or attack him but it still sent a stab of hurt through him.

Sirius saw the flicker of pain behind the brown eyes and quickly reprimanded the cat. He pushed it back down to its former position, despite the cat's stiffness and grabbed Remus' hand, pulling him towards them. He was pulled practically onto Sirius' lap and he tensed as the cat hissed and spat with even more fury and...terror. Remus flinched, trying to move off of Sirius' lap, hating the reminder of what he was, how others, even animals, thought of him. But Sirius wrapped an arm around his waist and held him there.

"Now listen up, you little snot", Sirius began crossly, speaking to the cat, "Remus lives here too and you don't hiss at him. He's family".

Remus felt a strange flutter in his chest at how Sirius so easily admitted that he considered him family, but he couldn't help but think that reasoning with a cat was pointless.

"Don't worry about it, it happens all the time. It's not his fault".

He tried to move off of Sirius' lap again, wishing his voice hadn't had the bitter edge that it had with his last statement. Sirius only tightened his hold and ignored Remus' words.

"Look, he's no harm at all", Sirius continued, referring to Remus as he began petting the cat again whose only response was to angrily flatten his ears even more, "Wouldn't harm a fly, this one. Unless of course you're a death eater – trust me, I've seen his binding hex, nearly chokes them to death he does. But I'm sure he wouldn't do that to you".

The cat continued to glare at Remus but the posture was visibly relaxing with Sirius' soothing strokes. Sirius had always had a way with animals and it had become even more pronounced after he had become an animagus; it was as if animals accepted him as one of them. And now it seemed, that if Sirius trusted something, the cat would be more willing to trust it too. Remus felt himself relaxing as the cat no longer looked as if it wanted to take a chunk out of his face, and he realised Sirius' thumb had been stroking slow circles over his hip in a similar action to that which had soothed the cat. Amused and somewhat irritated that Sirius thought him, subconsciously or consciously, to be a skittish animal that needed soothing, he sighed audibly. Sirius looked up at him and smiled, seeming pleased with himself that they were all getting along so well. Remus glared. Sirius' smile widened at the glare and leaned up to press his lips against Remus' not quite unwilling ones. Remus slowly pressed back, cupping Sirius' face with a hand as his other rested on his shoulder, relishing in the familiar glide of silken skin, his frostiness melting at the warm tingling running through his body at Sirius' touch.

They were interrupted by a low yowl as the cat promptly took off, leaping off Sirius' leg and darting under the table. Sirius had yelped as the claws had dug into his leg where the cat had leaped off and rubbed his leg gingerly.

Remus listened to Sirius curse and grumble with amusement. Really, he brought these things on himself.

"Ah well, eh? He'll get used to us eventually", Sirius muttered, casting one last glance at the glint of yellow eyes under the table before turning back to continue snogging the life out of his receptive flatmate.

'_Eventually_', being the keyword there, Remus thought vaguely as he thought he heard a hiss from under the table when he kicked his shoes off.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Not actually a huge fan of cats but meh. Please let me know if this was too soppy or not, I'd really appreciate any feedback.

Review, you animals.

;)


	2. Alpha Cat

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Just to clarify, Kurt is not Crookshanks XD But to the reviewer who said it, you made me lawl. Hard. Ta. :)

Anyway, this chapter has sex in it but it's nowhere near as explicit as I usually write...that comes later :D

Warning: Remus/Sirius and voyeur!cat. Not as weird as you might think, people. Hopefully, anyway.

Note: All hail Kurt Cobain.

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**Chapter 2: Alpha Cat**

Remus really should have seen it coming. _Of course_ Sirius would have found a way to relate the cat back to his one true love – Kurt Cobain. Honestly, if the man hadn't been completely unattainable, Remus would have been incurably jealous of how Sirius obsessed over him. In any case, he couldn't help a frown and an eye roll when Sirius announced that the cat would be named Kurt, due to his 'Fuck-you-I-don't-give-a-shit' nature that he shared with the muggle singer. He also couldn't help but agree that Sirius had quite aptly described the cat's nature.

The countless times that Remus had gotten the urge to kick the little shit across the room or perhaps 'accidentally' hex its paws to stick to the ceiling, he'd had to restrain himself to giving it a glare. The little turd had actually had the nerve to throw up in Remus' slipper _twice_ and still hissed and arched his back at him whenever he made quick movements. It was only with Sirius' encouragement that the two had been able to simply reside in the same room together without Kurt constantly growling from under the table. Sirius' persistence about this irritated Remus on so many different levels but he was somewhat grateful too. It was the first time in years that an animal other than an animagus had been in his presence for an extended period of time. And although Kurt was an unpleasant little sod to him, it was getting better and Remus was starting to feel less and less like a terrifying monster. If an animal who was incredibly receptive to things humans couldn't detect was becoming comfortable with him, it gave him hope that gaining such trust and respect of others wasn't completely impossible. It simply made him feel more human. And that Sirius was determined to do this for him just made him love him more and that was the reason he never did end up kicking Kurt across the room or sticking his paws to the ceiling.

However, one day they discovered something strange that really seemed to put Kurt more at ease with Remus.

They'd been fooling around in their bed one night, tired from work but not tired enough to forgo a quick shag; no, definitely not that tired. Remus had had Sirius' legs wrapped around his waist and he'd been waiting for Sirius to adjust to having Remus inside of him, when he saw Kurt.

The cat was perched elegantly on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, watching them with cold disdain, though there was none of the usual loathing that he regarded Remus with. Remus ignored Sirius' demanding urges to '_Merlin, Remus, fucking __**move**__ already_', and stared at the cat. Unnerved by the chilling stare on him while he was trying to have sex, he felt his libido diminish slightly, despite having Sirius' tight heat around him. Frustrated with the lack of movement going on, Sirius followed his gaze and snorted loudly when he saw Kurt nonchalantly watching them about to have a shag.

"Go on, _get_, you little furball! This isn't a free show", Sirius waved his hand at Kurt but it was pointless as he just looked at the waving hand, completely unaffected. Sirius huffed in irritation and amusement but grinned as saw the uncomfortable look on Remus' face.

"Just ignore him and get on with it", he ordered, clenching his muscles around Remus in an attempt to get him to get back to what he was doing. Pleasure flitted over Remus' features for a second before his face returned to uncomfortable.

"I can't. He's watching".

Sirius had to laugh then.

"He's a cat, Remus. As if he actually knows what's going on right now between us".

"But it's just that he's staring", Remus appeared to be trying not to look at Kurt as he spoke, "It's unnerving".

Sirius sighed, regarding Remus carefully for a minute. Remus had a point, Kurt's staring was a bit too direct and cold for comfort but he could hardly feel the need to care as it felt that if he didn't come soon his balls were going to fall off. Which was something he wanted to, understandably, avoid.

Now to convince Remus to just get on with it.

"Come on, I know you get off on people watching you. This is hardly any different".

Remus spluttered indignantly.

"It's not even nearly the same thing. He's a _cat_ for Merlin's sake. And for the record, I do _**not **_have a voyeur fetish".

Sirius grinned at him, "You do so. When we tried dirty talk you got off as quickly as a cheap snitch when I talked about people watching us shag".

Remus glared at him, not deluded enough to deny it but annoyed that Sirius had pointed it out.

"Besides, do you want to get up and move him? Because I don't", Sirius pointed out, trying to ignore the way his lower body was aching.

He had him there, Remus thought dimly. He wasn't willing to go near the suspicious, aggressive feline while he was naked. Just the thought of those sharp claws near his...well, he needed to stop thinking about that or shagging Sirius right now would be like playing snooker with a rope.

"Well fine", he agreed reluctantly, "But I still think this is stupid. It's not even perverted, Sirius, it's _perverse_".

Sirius rolled his eyes and smiled but didn't answer verbally, instead grounding his hips against Remus, bringing him back to full arousal as Sirius slid slightly around him. All thoughts of Kurt were quickly slipping from his mind as Sirius frowned in concentrated determination, moving his hips in the most stimulating way he could. Remus began thrusting into him, movements sharp and jerky at first but quickly finding a rhythm. He could still feel Kurt's eyes on them but the unnerving feeling was fading and was quickly replaced with white hot pleasure as he began moving in earnest, panting harshly as Sirius groaned obscenely beneath him. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, a dim, disjointed voice was telling him that this was wrong, perverse, that he shouldn't be able to do this with a fucking cat watching. The voice promptly shut up when Sirius let out a high-pitched moan, making Remus chuckle breathlessly. Sirius was absolutely fucking beautiful when he got in this state.

He felt the familiar tingling heat spreading through his body and he sped up even more, reaching between them to pull at Sirius. Fingers dug into his shoulders and a pleasurably agonized voice was crying out beneath him, blood was rushing in his ears, heat was clenching and sliding around him, the world was turning white and he could help but let out a sharp cry as his orgasm shook his body. He collapsed, sweaty, sticky and exhausted on top of the burning body beneath him.

A groan, a rustle, a squirm.

"Geroff, you're heavy".

He smiled dreamily, grunting as he obliged, rolling over to curl against Sirius' side. He was sinking, the world was getting darker, warmer, more beautiful and Sirius was warm and incredibly alive against his skin. Then something disturbed him.

"Remus", a voice whispered urgently.

Uncaring of the urgent tone, he slurred, "No. M'sleepin'."

"_Remus"_.

Again with the urgency?

Annoyed, he opened his eyes to glare at Sirius but his eyes caught on something else.

Kurt sat on the bed, staring at him from the other side of Sirius. Remus froze instinctively, sure that the nasty little fucker was going to tear his eyes out while he was down, but he was confused by the general lack of loathing in the yellow eyes. Kurt stared at him for a few more seconds before seeming to come to some sort of feline conclusion in his mind and slowly lay down, pressed up against Sirius' side with his furry head right next to Remus' hand which was draped over Sirius' chest.

Remus stared.

It was the closest he had ever been to the cat – he'd certainly never touched him before – and he couldn't for the life of him understand why the cat had suddenly warmed to him. Sirius' chuckle made him break the stare to turn and look at him. Sirius was grinning at him, the amusement in his eyes lost on Remus.

"Looks like he _did_ know what we were doing after all".

"What?"

"He's accepted you", Sirius stated simply, apparently all-knowing of animal pack dynamics, "You're one of the pack now".

Remus frowned, perplexed as he looked back at the dozing cat.

"What? Why now?"

Sirius shrugged slightly, careful not to disturb Kurt, "Dunno, he could probably smell what we were doing – he's not stupid, you know. Probably thought that if I do that sort of thing with you then you must definitely be ok. You're part of me".

Remus stared at him.

"That's ridiculous".

Sirius rolled his eyes at him, resting back against the pillow as he wrapped his arm more securely around Remus' back.

"Which one of us do you reckon he thinks is the alpha cat", Sirius pondered completely seriously (no pun intended) as he stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"If he's not stupid like you say, it'll be me", Remus stated evenly, resting back against Sirius, frowning as his head jolted from the movement of Sirius' guffaw.

"Well, I suppose you did top this time, but I don't think he'd be aware of that", Sirius admitted, his voice getting sleepy.

Remus hummed noncommittally, eyes drooping as he took in the scene before him one last time.

A pack, eh?, he thought vaguely. A wolf, a dog and a cat. It sounded like the start of a bad joke but it turned out that it was his family. His own family.

Seconds away from sleep, he smiled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alright so maybe it _was_ as weird as you might have thought :/ I intended it to be different to this, it made sense in my head, I swear! But when written...eh, it just seems completely unrealistic and quite a bit stupider than I thought. I can usually write smut so much better than this but it was weird trying to write it like this. It seems that I am completely lost without the foreplay XD. I hope I'll be back to my old self for future chapters :S I know this chapter sucked but let me know what you think anyway. Any and all feedback is immensely appreciated!

I promise to update soon but Christmas is only days away! :D :D :D :D :D

SANTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

If Santa really loves me there'll be Sirius and Remus tied with a bow under the Christmas tree for me this year ;D I swear I've been good all year, so he has to!

In case I don't get my wish, your reviews are the next best thing ;)


	3. Can't Do This Alone

Sorry for the angst, had to set it up for future chapters. It's crucial to the plot and ending. By the way, I foresee two or three more chapters after this. Shouldn't take long! :D

Fuck, I hate angst.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Chapter 3: Can't Do This Alone**

_Silence. _

Suffocating, smothering silence.

He wanted out. Out of his own head, out of his mind, out of this room where the memories lingered, out of the place that he had once called home. Pain wasn't even the word for it. Neither was agony. It was just this..._feeling_...that made him want to escape, to run and scream and cry until he couldn't do either anymore.

Instead, Remus poured himself some tea.

Then he washed a plate that was in the sink. In the past few months Sirius had seemed to have accepted a personal challenge to become the most notorious slob possible. Remus held the freshly cleaned plate for a moment. It smelled like lemon detergent and was warm from the hot water he'd used. He considered smashing it. Instead, he carefully put it in the cupboard. He took down the sugar from the shelf. He heaped two teaspoons into his tea. The way he'd always liked it. Sirius had always said that he'd had a sugar addiction, that he thought everything could be helped with sugar. Remus wondered if he should pour the whole kilo of sugar into his tea. Instead, he put it back onto the shelf and stirred his tea.

He could hear fireworks, loud bangs and whistles of colour dancing outside the kitchen window. The wizarding world was celebrating the sacrifice of a young family to save the many, to bring the downfall of a great evil. Remus didn't turn to look out the window. He didn't want to see the bright colours. He didn't want to celebrate. He wanted to vomit. Instead, he took a sip of tea. The sweet liquid scalded his tongue, blistering his throat on the way down. He took another.

Betrayal was a funny thing.

It had cost him everything. _Everything_. And he wanted to laugh. It was like some huge, sick, twisted joke. That someone he'd loved with all of his soul, someone he would have gladly died for and trusted with everything he had, had burned it all to the ground. Every piece of his being, his soul, was shattered and torn and bloody. And he wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh so hard that he wouldn't be able to breathe, so that the tears would stream down his face, so he would scream and howl and collapse _laughing_.

Instead, he took another sip of tea.

His blank stare at the wall was interrupted by ginger. Kurt had hopped up on the bench and was looking at him expectantly. Remus had always hated when Kurt jumped up on the kitchen surfaces. Sirius had always just laughed and said that there was no point trying to stop him. Sirius had loved that cat. Remus considered smacking the cat onto the floor. Or maybe gathering him up and throwing him out of the four-storey window. Or maybe taking his wand out and blasting him, setting him on fire with a simple flick, exploding him into red and ginger pieces with a sickening bang. Instead, he reached out to gently stroke the small, ginger head.

Kurt leaned into his palm, closing his eyes, trusting him, relying on him, unaware of the turmoil that was all that was left of Remus' life. He was the one key back to normalcy, to going back to living despite everything that had happened. Kurt had continued on like nothing had happened. Then so could he, right?

Remus meant to be strong. He meant to pat the cat calmly, pour it some cat food and refill its empty water bowl. He meant to act like it was all alright, that everything would go back to normal.

Instead, he cried.

He cried and cried. The tears blurred his vision and ran down his face. The first few dripped onto the bench surface, the rest ran down his cheeks, some landing on his neat robes while others ran under his chin. He sobbed and gasped and shut his eyes against it all. He tried to block it all out. The betrayal, the death, the crippling pain, the unknown, the helplessness, the loss, the uncertainty, the desperation, the regret, the anger, the hate and the love. _Most of all the love_. His breath came in shuddering gasps, he shut his eyes tighter and _screamed_. He was aware of dropping his cup and heard the crash of breaking china and he felt the scorching liquid splashing across the floor and up his legs. He felt himself sinking to his knees on the kitchen floor. And he felt nothing at all. And as he knelt there while the world fell apart around him, he felt something against his eye. He froze. Stilled his shuddering breath. Opened his eyes.

Kurt was sniffing his eyelashes. The cat had jumped down off the bench, avoided the puddles of tea and was standing in front of Remus, leaning up to gently press his cold nose to the tears clinging to Remus' eyelashes. The cat appeared to be processing the smell as he looked up at Remus. Then he backed up slightly to rub his head against Remus' hand which was curled in his lap.

Shaking, crying, trembling, he gathered the warm, soft body in his arms. They needed to move on, they needed to start anew and start living again. Remus knew that. He clutched Kurt to his chest and shut his eyes again. He just couldn't do it though. He couldn't just start life again, there was no going back from this hell. He saw himself climbing all the way up to the roof, standing on top of the highest point for a few blank seconds, staring at the bright bursts of fireworks and to the sweet music of exploding colours, falling forwards towards the ground. Sweet bliss. No more pain. No more living. He couldn't live anymore. He couldn't, couldn't, couldn't, couldn't. Couldn't go on.

"I can't, I can't, _Ican'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan't__**Ican't!**_"

Then Kurt started purring in his arms.

And instead, Remus found that he could.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hello, Mr. story, I didn't see you there behind all that angst. So I'm not an angst writer. I like writing it, it's a hell of a lot of fun to write, but I hate reading it and I hate the feeling that it gives people (me, specifically :P). I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Sue me. But yeah, this chapter called for angst but the next one should be way better. Stay tuned for another update! Please? Also, any comments would be greatly appreciated. I've got the niggling feeling that I overdid the angst for this chapter. Reviews?

Reviews are the chocolate to my Remus!

You know you want to.

;)


	4. Old Flame, Same Heat

Notes: My wonderful reviewers have kept me chugging along with this fic. Thanks very much to you all. I must simply say though that my gratitude is exceeded only by my laziness – hence the lack of replies :/ I'm not an ungrateful bastard; just a bastard. Anyway, this chapter was insanely difficult and tedious to write, I hope it's not similarly horrible to read. I also took forever getting around to writing it because I was busy sulking about my external exam results. It could be so much worse but I still feel like shit. Reviews are always appreciated immensely. A few positive reviews would do wonders for my pathetic sulking and burned ego at the moment. A good slap wouldn't go amiss either but virtual slaps aren't always as effective as real ones so nice reviews will have to do ;)

Anyway, on with the fic, I guess.

PS: Don't shoot me for the _tick_ing ;)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Era: Post GOF.

**Chapter 4: Old Flame, Same Heat**

_Tick._

_Tick. _

_Tick._

Remus' stomach gurgled nervously. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It had barely been thirty seconds since he had last looked at it but it had felt like at least five minutes.

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

He was _losing his mind_. And while he was at it he was going to blast that damn clock off the wall.

_Tick. _

_Tick._

_Tick._

Sirius should have been here by now. And Remus was equally grateful and disappointed that he was not here yet. What was he going to say to him? It was all very well when they were in the company of others; it wasn't like they had the chance to really discuss anything with more depth than a puddle when other people were around. But this...An undetermined but surely long amount of time with them alone in Remus' flat...

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

Remus wiped his sweaty palms on his worn trousers as he moved to boil the kettle again. It whistled at him shrilly almost immediately, reminding him that he had boiled it not ten minutes before.

_Tick._

_Tick. _

_Tick._

Mixed emotions, jumbled feelings, all spinning around in his head, making the small flat look absurdly odd and his insides feel jittery and nauseated. He surreptitiously reached out to push the chair back under the table, grateful that at least his hands were steady. He was self-conscious and shameful enough about his mixed feelings about Sirius coming over without having his hands shaking. Hope was not supposed to be one of those feelings. And neither was love. Regret yes, perhaps wistfulness even. But he wasn't still supposed to love the man. That ship should have set sail years ago. Fourteen years ago to be precise. To be even more precise, it should have been the day when he'd stood at the gate of James and Lily's smoldering wreck of a house and fell to his knees, speechless and broken. That was the day that he should have stopped loving Sirius Black. But he hadn't. He'd loved the man he used to know, the memory of a loyal friend, of a witty and impulsive lover. And now that he knew that those memories were never lies like he'd thought for all these years...now he couldn't deny the way he felt; that it was still love. That meddlesome feeling that it was.

_Scrape. Scrape. Scrape._

The door. Remus' head jerked up from where it had hung in memory and contemplation. Before he knew it he was at the door and drawing back the lock. He really knew he should have checked who it was first and all that, what with Voldemort apparently rising again, but the promise of his long-lost friend awaiting him and scratching at the door was too much to bear. He flung the door open, forgetting all about his resolve to be calm and cool, and beamed warmly at the bear-like dog that sat in front of the door.

"Come in, Padfoot. You must be wrecked".

He stood aside and allowed the dog to pad tiredly into the flat, head and tail drooped, although the latter was still alive enough to give a wag or two. Remus closed the door and turned to find that Sirius still hadn't changed into human form. Awkward and unsure of what exactly he should do, Remus offered Sirius a hesitant smile. Sirius offered a decidedly unhesitant wag of his tail. But he still didn't change back. Remus was perplexed for a moment before he realised how truly exhausted Sirius must have been. He obviously didn't have the strength or presence of mind to have a conversation or probably even acknowledge Remus in a way that took any more effort than a smile. Being able to be a dog to avoid or postpone awkward conversations was something that Remus envied Sirius for.

He beckoned for Sirius to follow him and led him to the lounge room where he'd transfigured a mattress near the fireplace. The days were getting quite warm but the nights were still quite chilly and Remus thought that perhaps Sirius would appreciate the warmth after so many nights spent in the bitterness of open air. Sirius seemed to agree, crawling up onto the soft mattress and neatly spread blankets, still in dog form, and promptly curled into a ball. Sirius sent a glance his way that seemed to be apologetic before the eyes slowly slid closed and Remus was left quite alone with his thoughts and a deeply slumbering dog.

Remus was actually rather grateful that Sirius had remained a dog. It allowed him to get used to the idea of Sirius simply being there that night without having to exchange any awkward words or say things without thinking just because Sirius was _there_ after all those years.

After a moment's hesitation he quietly approached the sleeping dog and gently pulled a thin blanket over him. He knew Sirius didn't like blankets over him in dog form but it just wouldn't have seemed right if he hadn't have done it. He stared at the rugged, worn face of the dog for a few long seconds before straightening and turning to go to his room.

"Good night, Sirius".

He felt a strange warmth in his stomach as he turned off the light and realised that one day soon there would be someone to reply. For now though, the flat was silent except for the steady _tick tick tick_ of the clock and the deep breathing of the sleeping animagus.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sirius awoke to the smell of toast. He lifted his head and blearily looked around. Small fireplace still smoldering slightly, red threadbare rugs, enormous rickety bookshelf with space left for barely one more book, mattress that he was sleeping on on the floor in front of the fireplace.

_Oh, Remus' flat_.

Well, technically it had been _their_ flat all those years ago, and Sirius vaguely wondered why Remus had never sold it. Surely, he must have needed the money more than the painful memories. Shaking the thought from his head, Sirius transformed from dog into man and stood, stretching out his aching muscles.

One advantage of being in their old flat was that Sirius still remembered where everything was, including the bathroom. He made his way there, feet aching almost pleasantly as they moved across the cold tiles. He'd just finished with the loo when he saw the neatly folded towels next to the sink. His stomach was aching but he didn't think he'd feel like a shower after gorging himself on toast, so he took the incentive and undressed to take a shower. He knew he wasn't being a very good guest but being in his – _their_ – old flat made it feel only natural to act as if it was still his home. He wondered if Remus would be bothered by that. But the hot water cascading down his back pushed the thought from his mind. It had been weeks since he'd been allowed the pleasure of a hot shower and it felt exquisite. The grit and smell was fast being washed away and he sighed as the water massaged his scalp.

Ten minutes later and he was stepping out into the steamy bathroom. He'd thoroughly washed himself with Remus' old honey and almond soap that he'd been using since their school days and he felt quite odd and intrusive smelling like Remus. But he'd needed the wash and he'd also discovered that his hair needed another cut as it was tangled and matted again. Another discovery, a pleasant one this time, was that parts of him that he'd thought lifeless since Azkaban had shown some very clear signs of life. He'd never thought that a boner would have made him feel so..._normal_. It was a good feeling, even though he'd not wanked, and it gave him the hope that perhaps there was a possibility that he could actually lead a fairly normal life one day, that life's small pleasures might come back to him eventually.

He was in a relatively good mood until he realised that he hadn't thought as far as to find anything clean to change into. He wrapped a towel around his waist and poked his head out of the other door in the bathroom that led to the master bedroom. He could hear Remus in the kitchen and thought that maybe he could just wrap a blanket around himself for now but then his eyes caught on the bed. There were clothes laid out neatly. Black boxers, black muggle sweat pants and one of his own old white shirts with a faded band name on the front. They looked as if they'd been left for him so he let his towel drop as he clambered into the clothes. The pants were loose which was worrying as they were probably Remus' and Remus was already a considerably thin man. In fact, Sirius' clothes used to be baggy on Remus in the old days. Trying not to think too much about any of that, Sirius pulled on the similarly loose shirt and made his way to the kitchen.

He stopped at the door for a moment, watching Remus as he stared, lost in thought, out of the kitchen window, nursing what appeared to be a cup of tea. Sirius' eyes cast over the familiar posture and features, noting the faded muggle jeans and sweater, the worn face and grey hairs at his temples. The years hadn't been kind to him but the sight of him standing there still took Sirius' breath away. The situation was so achingly familiar – Remus making breakfast, Sirius watching him silently for a few moments before making his way over, taking the offered coffee, leisurely leaning over to kiss the smiling lips that he loved so much...

Remus' eyes flickered and turned to see Sirius staring at him with a strange look on his face. It looked like a mixture of pain and...longing. But perhaps it had been a trick of the light. He smiled in greeting and Sirius' expression changed to sheepish and smiling. He stepped forward, saying something about breakfast smelling good and giving Remus the chance to take in the sight of Sirius in his old shirt and in Remus' pants. It felt so much like old times, despite Sirius' noticeably withered appearance, and Remus felt his chest constrict a little.

"Sleep well?", he inquired politely, pouring Sirius some coffee and slipping back into an ancient routine without being aware of it.

Sirius mumbled his affirmation and thanks, taking the offered coffee. Moments later, multiple slices of warm, buttered toast were set in front of him and a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs followed shortly after. His growling stomach gave him no choice but to wolf down the modest feast, barely caring that Remus was smiling down slightly at his own tea. Minutes later and Remus was removing the empty plates, chuckling as Sirius groaned, patting his stomach.

"Haven't eaten that well in ages. Give my compliments to the chef".

"Your compliments are duly noted", Remus replied with another smile, resting his elbows on the bench as he took a sip of tea. Unable to think of anything else to say, Sirius looked down at his hands, idly brushing his thumb over the handle of the cup he was holding.

"How's Harry", Remus asked gently, breaking the awkward silence.

"He's good. Well, as good as he can be after what happened", Sirius paused, feeling anger well in him at the injustice of it all, "He's so young and he should never have had to...", Sirius broke off quietly, unable to put his feelings into speech. Harry _was_ so young and the things he had seen, the things he had had to do were things no adult should have had to deal with, let alone a child. Carrying his friend's dead body back for his parents while trying to avoid getting killed by Voldemort...he was such a good kid, a brave, selfless kid, and it wasn't right that he had to deal with such horrific things.

Remus seemed to understand his thoughts, placing his hand over the hand that Sirius cradled the cup with.

"He's safe for now. And the Order will protect him, we all will. We can protect him from this sort of thing happening again".

Sirius wanted to believe Remus' words but even he could feel the tinge of doubt that Remus felt and he bit his lip as he fought the inexplicable urge to wrench his hand from under Remus'. After everything, all the things that had happened, Remus shouldn't be so trusting, putting his faith into the Order, into Dumbledore. He wanted to shake the man, shake him until he felt the rage, the mistrust and injustice that Sirius felt. But as Sirius stared down at the hand placed over his own, two parallel white scars running over the knuckles, he knew that Remus had already felt that rage, mistrust and injustice; he'd felt it and lived with it all his life. And Sirius also knew that he was partly to blame.

He placed his other hand over Remus, holding firmly, feeling his stomach twist uncomfortably and his throat close up slightly as he confronted what he'd been trying to avoid.

"Moony, I wish I'd never...I wish I could...".

Remus watched silently as Sirius words failed him. He vaguely knew what he was trying to say but he felt that he should let Sirius get there on his own. Then Sirius' voice died completely and he just sat there, staring at their linked hands dejectedly as if they held some mystery he knew he'd never be able to crack. Then a blur of ginger appeared before their eyes, making them both jump.

"Shit! _Kurt_?", Sirius stared in incredulous wonder as he got over his initial shock.

Remus simply glared at the cat as it gave him the usual disregarding look and flick of its tail before turning to Sirius. Sirius watched, silent and eyes wide as Kurt leaned closer, nose twitching as he assessed Sirius' scent and apparently came to a favourable conclusion as he leaned down to rub his head and face all over Remus and Sirius' conjoined hands.

"I think he remembers you", Remus concluded in amusement as Kurt then tried to rub his head all over Sirius' face.

"Remus", Sirius wondered aloud, removing his hands from Remus' to pick up the cat, "You kept him. All these years...you kept him".

Uncomfortably, Remus turned to make himself another tea, not meeting Sirius' gaze as he replied with forced nonchalance, "Of course I did. I couldn't just let him go free to terrorize the street".

"But you hated him. You always said you'd roast him for tea if he weren't so scrawny. And you kept him".

Remus turned, arching an eyebrow in the way that only he could, "You never thought I'd actually eat him, did you? He'd surely taste as bad as he acts".

Sirius laughed lightly, looking down at the bundle of purring ginger fur in his arms. Still, he couldn't help but press the subject – he'd always thought that Kurt would have been long gone during his absence, the little that he had actually thought about the cat that is.

"Why did you keep him, though?"

Remus didn't answer immediately, carefully adding sugar to his tea as he considered his answer.

"He was the only thing I had left, I suppose. A temperamental, scrawny, ungrateful cat was all I really had left of...", his courage failed him and he continued to stare down into his tea to avoid Sirius' gaze, "I couldn't just let him go. So I kept him. And sometimes he's not even such a horrible little berk to me now too".

Sirius was silent, staring down at the bench top and gently scratching behind Kurt's ear as he seemed to consider Remus' words. However, the reply was not what Remus had been expecting.

"I missed him, you know. And when I was in Azkaban even after everything...all the things that I did, I still wished I could-could tell him that I was sorry".

Remus raised his eyebrow again but at the meaningful look from Sirius he dropped it again. They both knew Sirius wasn't talking about the cat.

"And even though I knew he'd never believe me, I wanted to tell him that everything that we had, it was all real. I wanted him to know that even if he didn't believe that I was innocent that what we had was never a lie", Sirius felt stupid, telling Remus everything like this because he didn't have the courage to come outright and say it directly to him, but he was relieved that he was just saying it, "I know I hurt him and that I don't deserve one second of his time for what I did, but do you think he'd ever be able to forgive me?"

Remus continued to regard him silently and Sirius felt panic rising in his throat, making him blurt out desperately, "Because even after everything I did, I still love him and I know things can never go back to the way they were and that I don't deserve him, but...", he struggled for words, for something to make him seem less of a pathetic loser who was undeserving of anything positive from Remus, but his voice faded into nothing. He clutched tightly to Kurt, awaiting the verdict. He didn't have to wait long.

"I forgave you long ago, Padfoot. Back in the Shrieking Shack when you asked me, I'd already forgiven you", Sirius looked up, grin beginning on his face as he looked into the honest brown eyes, "I know what it was like back then, I remember the war and how everyone suspected each other. _I_ suspected _you_. All those years, I should have known...But that's behind us. We each did things we regret, let's not dwell on them, ok? It's in the past now".

Sirius nodded, still smiling as he asked, "You've really forgiven me?"

Remus returned the smile a little sheepishly as he answered, "Of course. It would be a bit hypocritical not to...after everything that happened I never really stopped loving you, you know. I don't think it's possible to ever just stop loving someone like that".

Sirius felt his throat constrict nervously as he hesitantly posed his next question, "I know that I'm not-I'm not what I used to be but do you think we could...you know, start again - start being together again?"

Remus couldn't contain the smile as he replied, "You think you really want to be with an unemployed werewolf professor?"

Sirius returned the grin slowly, "Only if you really want to be with a dangerous ex-convict on the run".

Sirius' heart felt as if it was going to explode as Remus began to lean closer over the bench, smile still playing on his lips as he murmured, "I don't know. Maybe I should keep my options open".

Sirius couldn't help the chuckle even as he leaned forward to meet Remus halfway and murmur back, "I'll be here whenever you decide you want your scruffy mutt back". Even as Remus smiled, he gently pressed their lips together. It was awkward and unpracticed and the angle wasn't comfortable – in fact it was very much like the first kiss they had shared when they had been barely seventeen. None of that mattered. It was perfect.

That is, until Kurt decided to sink his nails into Remus' chest with a low growl.

Yelping, Remus jerked away, rubbing his chest gingerly as Kurt leaped out of Sirius' arms and slunk away moodily, tail waving and twitching through the air.

Sirius laughed, even as Remus sent him a half-hearted glare.

"What was that I once said about him getting used to us?"

"Eventually, Sirius, _eventually_".

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You know, my usual pleading trollop about reviews. ;P Please? One or two more chapters after this. They should be uploaded quicker too.

Right, I'm off to watch some fireworks. Happy New Years, you lovely beasts, you!

:)


	5. Expanding The Pack

Notes: Sorry this took so long, I'm all tied up with moving house and I was trying to figure out how exactly to write this chapter. The idea finally came to me like a sack of potatoes to the head.

Warnings: This chapter diverges significantly from canon as I'm in denial about the deaths of certain characters. So it's set after Deathly Hallows and Remus and Sirius are quite alive, thank you very much. If you adamantly prefer canon and the angst along with it, this one is not for you. :P

**Chapter 5: Expanding The Pack**

Harry stumbled down the stairs, blindly following the smell of bacon as he bumped into numerous pieces of furniture.

He'd never been so hungry for heavy, greasy food before in his life. Then again, he'd never had a hangover before either. In hindsight, he actually hadn't drank that much the night before. Not even half as much as Ron and when he'd last seen Fred and George they'd been refilling their _pot plant _sized goblets full of Dragon's Breath Rum, while singing a filthy song about wizard's wands and witches' cauldrons at the top of their lungs. Apparently they'd dedicated it to him as they declared that due to their generous nature they were willing to pass on their vast knowledge and wisdom down to the newly eighteen year old Harry.

Slight hangover and all, it was the best birthday he'd ever had.

He shuffled into the kitchen, still in his pajamas and wondering why the room looked oddly grainy and too bright. Then he spotted the enormous pile of bacon and eggs and toast and – were those hash browns? - and sausages. His stomach lurched and he wasn't sure if he needed to throw up or eat until he wanted to throw up.

"Eat up. There's nothing worse than a hangover on an empty stomach".

Harry grinned sheepishly at his godfather who was sitting at the table, his returning grin only half-hidden by the Daily Prophet. Harry knew that Sirius and Remus had been the ones who had organised his birthday party, alcohol and all, as when all the adults had been leaving after the first half of the party, Remus had muttered, smiling, "Enjoy yourself, just don't drink _too_ much", and predictably contrasting Remus, Sirius had winked and declared, "Go for gold, Harry".

It had been thoughtful of them to have organised a less formal party where there had been no adults. And in their house too. Harry had only been living with them for a couple of months and they were already making him feel at home.

From behind the kitchen bench, Remus pushed a glass full of maroon liquid and a plate piled high with greasy goodness at him.

"That's a potion for the hangover if you want it", Remus explained as he flicked his wand at a jar of the same maroon substance so it floated back up onto a high shelf in the cupboard, "Most people don't use it though because it tastes terrible".

Harry tipped the glass towards him slightly to find that the substance was more like congealed goo than liquid.

"That's an understatement, Remus. It tastes like rotten lizard guts because it _has_ rotten lizard guts in it", Sirius said from his place at the table as he idly flipped over the page.

Harry realised he must have made a face because Sirius had laughed and continued, "I'd just leave it if I were you, that breakfast will make you feel better anyway".

Harry nodded, pulling the plate of food towards him and beginning to tuck in.

He was usually the one who cooked for them as Sirius was hopeless at cooking and Remus frequently forgot to cook at the right times. He didn't mind though. He'd gotten quite good at cooking as a child because he'd been forced to by the Dursleys but unlike when he'd lived with the Dursleys, Remus and Sirius appreciated it when he cooked and often complimented him on what he made. It made him feel even more welcome and like he belonged there, with them.

_Them_ was how Harry often thought of Remus and Sirius now because he was getting used to them being '_them'_. The Dursleys had been rabid homophobics but ever since he'd gone to Hogwarts he learned to stop taking the Dursley's beliefs as gospel as he had when he'd been a child. And after he'd discovered that homosexuality was only frowned upon in the wizarding world by traditional pure-blood families, he'd slowly eased into the idea of Remus and Sirius being together. It wasn't as if there was much to get used to anyway. They didn't use any pet names for each other and generally didn't show any displays of overt affection while he was there. He'd only seen them kiss once when they'd thought he'd been in his bedroom and Harry was surprised that the sight wasn't disturbing, perhaps a little odd, but not disturbing. And besides, he was the happiest that he'd been in...well...forever, living with them.

Sirius had bought a new house not too far from the Weasleys as he knew how fond Harry was of them, and he'd been invited to live with them and be home tutored to make up for his absence in his seventh year of schooling. Both were qualified and apt wizards and as long as he took the NEWT exams Professor Mcgonagall would make sure it would be recognised as a legitimate education.

All in all, he was happy. And that was enough.

He finished the enormous breakfast, leaving only a hash brown and the bacon rinds and stretched, thinking lazily that the room didn't look too bright anymore and his head wasn't aching quite so much. He'd left the bacon rinds for Kurt, Remus and Sirius' cat that had taken a shine to him, and he was just looking around for him when Remus seemed to guess what he was thinking.

"I wouldn't give Kurt any treats for a while. Sirius has been giving him too many and he's getting on the heavy side".

Sirius snorted indignantly at the comment, "Don't blame me for him being a bloater. Who was the one who attached an alarm spell to him so he couldn't catch birds anymore? How is he supposed to get his exercise?"

"Find something else for him to do other than killing things", Remus replied smartly, taking a sip of tea and shooting Sirius a look over the rim of his cup.

Smiling in amusement at the ridiculously domestic squabble, Harry pushed his plate away and silently vowed not to give Kurt any more treats for a while: he _had_ been looking more and more like a hairy ginger ball lately.

"You up for a game of Quidditch today then?", Sirius asked, apparently forgetting Kurt as he grinned at Harry, folding the paper and flicking it next to his coffee.

Harry's mind immediately went to the new Quidditch set that Sirius had gotten him for his birthday. New robes, shoes, broom maintenance kit, Quidditch balls set and various attachments for his broom that he couldn't wait to try out. But then again, he thought guiltily, he'd promised Professor McGonagall that he would try his best to catch up as quickly as possible and he had a lot of work to do.

Remus seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he frowned at Sirius over the rim of his cup, "He'd supposed to be studying, Sirius. It's supposed to be Transfiguration and Herbology today".

Sirius waved his hand dismissively in Remus' general direction, "He can study tomorrow. It's the day after his birthday, let the boy live a little".

Harry watched the discussion silently, feeling embarrassed that he was the cause of an argument even though he knew Sirius and Remus wouldn't see it that way. Then he looked at Remus and saw the familiar reluctant smile, tinged with equal amounts of guilt and amusement. It was a look that Harry now knew he saved solely for Sirius as, '_Fine, but just this once_'.

Harry grinned.

"Alright, but not all day. Birthday or not, Minerva would have my blood if she knew you were out playing Quidditch when there was Transfiguration to be studied".

Harry beamed gratefully at him before making his way back to his bedroom with a quick, "Back in a minute".

Just as he was leaving the kitchen he turned slightly. He just saw that Sirius had gotten up from his chair and had leaned over the bench to kiss Remus on the cheek. He muttered something in his ear that made him laugh but Harry was already turning back towards the stairs leading to his bedroom. A little embarrassed but amused by the little display in the kitchen, he smiled slightly and took the steps two at a time, pondering on how incredibly _normal_ Remus and Sirius could act sometimes. Seconds later he was digging in his walk-in wardrobe where he'd stashed most of his birthday presents the night before.

He'd just dug out his new Quidditch robes when he heard a strange little whimper coming from deep inside his wardrobe.

He froze and turned, listening intently for the sound again and it was only seconds before he heard the same little whimper but louder. He approached cautiously, pulling his wand out of his pocket. It didn't sound dangerous, but after all that he'd seen, heard and experienced in his short but eventful life, he knew that being cautious sometimes paid off. As he got nearer to the back of his wardrobe, he heard more sounds, rustling sounds as if something was moving. It was probably just Kurt, chubby and sleeping, dreaming about chasing forbidden birds, but Harry murmured "_Lumos"_ anyway.

Sure enough, there was Kurt, but it wasn't what Harry was expecting.

Kurt was stretched out on a pile of blankets, surrounded by _kittens_.

Harry stared in amazement for a couple of long moments, wondering stupidly how Kurt had gotten kittens into his wardrobe before it dawned on him.

"Uh, Sirius, Remus", he called over his shoulder, trying not to yell too loud as he looked down at the tiny kittens, "Could you come up here for a minute?"

He heard muffled sounds of the two men approaching and climbing the stairs and then Sirius' confused voice, "Where are you?"

Realising dimly that he was in his wardrobe, in the dark as he hadn't thought to turn on the light, he called, "In here".

Seconds later, he was blinking in the light of his wardrobe and Sirius and Remus were both standing behind him. There was stunned silence as all three stared down at the cat surrounded by squirming little balls of kitten. Then Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"_Told you_ it wasn't my fault that he was a bloater, Moony".

Remus corrected him, automatically it seemed, in a quiet, dazed voice, "I think you mean, _she"_.

He then stepped forward and knelt near Kurt's head, speaking softly, "Do you know how long they've been in here, Harry?"

"No, but they weren't here a couple of days ago when I put those blankets there".

"We should've known; he always was a cranky little bitch", Sirius mused quietly, watching as a wriggling white kitten was roughly set upon by Kurt, cleaning its head with _her_ rough tongue.

"They can't stay in here", Remus said logically, slowly reaching out a hand to Kurt who sniffed it before rubbing her head on it, "We'll move them out of your wardrobe and make sure she takes care of them. Then we'll have to find homes for them".

"Ginny _was_ saying that she wanted another pet, and one that would eat spiders for her", Harry suggested quietly, kneeling down apprehensively next to Remus, feeling giant, clumsy and brutish next to the tiny little beings before him.

There were six in all and they were differently coloured. Indeed, Harry wondered what colouring the father must have had as there were three white ones with brown and black patches, two ginger ones and a grey one with white paws. And they were so _small_. He could probably easily pick one up in one hand but he was too afraid that he'd somehow hurt it to try.

He sensed Sirius kneeling down on his either side and was grateful that he'd gotten such a large wardrobe.

"Whoever knocked up our Kurt was a bit of a mongrel; look at these colours", he murmured, grinning. Harry and Remus laughed, watching as Sirius reached out a hand to scratch behind Kurt's ear.

"She's a bit old to be having kittens", Remus mused out loud, "Maybe she has got some magic after all. We'll have to get them checked for magical abilities".

Ten minutes later and a newly transfigured basket full of kittens was floating down the stairs with an intently anxious Kurt following behind it, mewling after the little whimpers coming from the basket. Remus gently let the basket rest on the ground in the lounge room and Kurt immediately jumped into it, sniffing at the small squirming bodies as if to reassure herself that they were alright. Harry brought her food bowl and water bowl over next to the basket and, deciding to give Kurt the bacon rinds after all, brought them along too. Then Remus sent both him and Sirius off to play Quidditch, saying that he'd get an Animal Carer in to look Kurt and the kittens over to make sure they were alright and to see if they needed to be registered as magical or not, which he admitted was unlikely.

Harry and Sirius were just about to walk out the back door, already carrying their Quidditch gear when Ron, Fred and George turned up. Ron was looking more pale than usual, his freckles standing out starkly against his skin as he was probably suffering from a vicious hangover, but Fred and George were bright and chipper, proclaiming themselves to be of higher breeding stock than the likes of Ron and therefore did not so easily succumb to such lowly things as hangovers. That and they had drank the lizard guts potion.

They were just agreeing to a Quidditch game when they caught sight of the basket in the living room and the moving little bundles inside of it. Eyes widening as they examined the kittens, Fred and George's face split into identical grins and even Ron couldn't hold back his laughter when one of them proclaimed that Sirius and Remus certainly got a lot of pussy for blokes who were bent for each other.

And it was with those words that Kurt and her litter of kittens were welcomed into the decidedly odd but fairly content family of Sirius, Remus and Harry.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Blehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh._

_I swear this story gets worse as I keep writing. **When will this madness end?** _

_One more chapter to go, people. One. More. Chapter. Stay with me until then? Please? Reviews would be more awesome than a very alive Kurt Cobain dipped in chocolate ;) **That's** how much I crave your reviews, people. It's insane. _

**(Drools in silence for a few minutes over the thought of Kurt Cobain in chocolate.)**

_I'll hopefully update soon, at least I know exactly what will be in the next chapter. _

_Review, ya filthy scallywags. ;) _

_Arrr. _


	6. Eventually

_Notes: Last chapter! Hurrah! Sorry it took me so long. :/ I hope it doesn't disappoint, even though it's short._

_Also, thank you everyone so much for sticking with me through this fic, I appreciate you all enormously! :D _

_You guys rule._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Chapter 6: Eventually**

_"His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears."_

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Remus had always liked the smell of soil.

It spoke to the deep, hidden part of him that snarled and howled at the moon and yearned for four legged races in moonlight, the harsh panting of a scruffy black dog by his side. Yet, he also loved it for very human reasons too. It smelled like rain and peace and had always reminded him that no matter what happened, there would still be that release of tension that he found in the rain.

He unearthed another mound of soil with the spade, uncaring of the sweat that rolled down his face and back in the burning, late afternoon sun, ignoring the smudges of dirt on his clothes, arms, hands and face. Judging from the look of Sirius, he also didn't care about discomfort at the moment.

Silently, they focused on their work, digging up mounds of loose dirt with two ordinary muggle spades.

They could have used magic, that would have been the sensible and easy thing to do, but they had both silently agreed, so in harmony with each other after so many years spent together, that they needed to do this by hand. They needed to feel the sweat and pain, they needed to feel the strength of their own bodies, sacrificing their energy and time for something that had given them so much more. It also meant that any stray tears could be explained away as sweat dripping down their faces.

Years ago, they would have thought it foolish to cry over a cat.

But after living with something for twenty-three years, it would be foolish not cry over its departure.

Remus paused, leaning on the spade as he wiped his face with a dirty forearm and he knew that he'd smudged dirt all over his face but he didn't care. Sirius removed another shovel of loose dirt before following his lead and stopped, staring down at the little grave.

Wordlessly, they turned in unison and bent down to slide their hands gently under the little bundle, wrapped up in blankets. Remus pretended not to notice when Sirius' breath hitched in what might have been a suppressed sob when the furry ginger tail hung limply from his end of the bundle.

Twenty-three years was a long time.

Kurt had been by Remus' side through everything. She'd been there when he and Sirius were still finding their place in a chaotic world, when they'd first been settling down together as a couple and she was there in the first hints of doubt and mistrust. She was there when Remus' world had imploded, everything he once had and loved ripped from him. She was there through the years that he struggled to come to terms with everything that happened and with what he kept trying to deny he still felt. She was there when he'd tried to grasp the hope of having Sirius back and in his arms and again when he thought he'd lost him in the Department of Mysteries. She was there when Harry had come to live with them and again when he'd left to start his own life in the still-recovering world. She'd been there in their middle-aged years, when both Remus and Sirius were starting to notice that they weren't as agile as they once were and that their bodies ached tiredly in the morning and evening, betraying their age. She'd simply always been there. And now she wouldn't be.

Remus hastily wiped his face again with his arm as they carefully placed Kurt in the little grave, Sirius gently arranging the tail so it curled around the small, still body.

They stood side by side, staring down at the bundle of blankets, each lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes before they picked up the spades again. The soil slowly covered the little body, each replacing the dirt more carefully than when they'd dug it up. Eventually, with the late afternoon, summer sun pelting down on their backs, they gazed down at the covered grave. Sirius took his wand from his pocket and frowned before making a complicated flicking action that transfigured a small, blank plaque. Remus also took out his own wand and waited patiently for his turn as Sirius chipped words into the glazed stone with a spell. They didn't need to think of what to say, there were no big declarations of appreciation that they wanted to write; everything that the moody feline had lived through and experienced with them could never be given words thankful enough.

Eventually, the little plaque was placed over the grave, the words carved in both Remus' and Sirius' writing.

_Kurt_

_Who really did, after everything, get used to us._

They stared down at the grave for a few minutes more, dirty and dishevelled but focusing only on the results of their work. Then Remus slipped his filthy hand into Sirius similarily filthy one and they turned to walk back up to their house.

"Harry said he'd be coming over this weekend with Ginny and the kids, didn't he?", Sirius said lightly as they both ignored the blocked, stuffy sound his voice had.

Remus hummed in confirmation before smiling softly, "You better hide your bike, or James and Albus will try to fly it into the lake again. I don't think you want Ginny's brilliant impersonation of Molly again, do you?"

Sirius cringed but chuckled his agreement and squeezed his hand as they climbed the back steps to their house.

"Get out of the vegetable patch, Snot", Remus called irritably as he looked to his right, frowning at the ginger cat lurking among the tomatoes.

Sirius had been the one to name the ginger cat from Kurt's litter and it had unfortunately stuck. The cat itself had also stuck as it had refused to have anyone but them as its owners, having much the same attitude that was reminiscent of his mother. Indeed, the cat simply glared at Remus and hissed faintly before stalking out of the vegetable patch with its tail in the air.

"You think he'll eventually get used to us?", Sirius asked quietly, smirking at Remus knowingly as they watched the cat dash inside the house before them.

"Eventually, Sirius", Remus smiled, "Eventually".

_**Finite.**_

OOOOOOOOOOO

Yeah, sorry.

This chapter was very short and probably not the ending you were hoping for but I hope I at least ended it alright. Please let me know what you think! :D I actually did feel sad when I wrote about Kurt, even though she was an irritating little shit.

Aww, little Snot...

:)


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